Melody of Mirage
by Twin Kats
Summary: Not everything is always as it seems; something a young, dark-haired teen had learned a long time ago… / "You think he's a Keeper." "Why else would he not know? Why else carry those scales, why else speak as he does?" / HPYGO Cross /
1. Shadows

_**Summary: **__Not everything is always as it seems; something a young, dark-haired teen had learned a long time ago… // "Jii-chan…promise me we can stay here forever?" The elder smiled from the doorway, blue-grey eyes darkening with untold emotion. "Forever…is such a long time, Yuugi. But if it's what you want…" he trailed off, "…if it's what you want…" // HPYGO crossover //_

_**Melody of Mirage  
**__**Shadows**_

_He lay in a limp heap upon the cold stone floor, his bare chest heaving with every breath he took. Fevered skin taking both pain and comfort from the damp as dull, violet eyes stared unseeing in the darkness. Such darkness that was all he ever knew; his forehead furrowed with pain, his throat raw from continuous screaming and his mind blank of any real thought of who he truly was…the way he had lived for so long._

_He knew what the darkness called for; revenge, bloodlust, fear…. It fed the dark emotions in his body, soul; tore at his skin and weaknesses in anger—forced him to taste the bitter tang of his own blood again and again. Never letting him die even if he was drowning…._

_He hated it; oh how he hated it…but this was all he'd ever known. Times like this, where he lay as nothing more than a mere rag doll, healing from his last torture session, were times where he could reflect. Try to remember._

_All it ever brought was pain in the end; no memories lasted of who he was. The only remaining memory, his first, was what he figured was his first time in this darkness…._

_Screaming, pleading, __**begging**__ for it to stop…Ra make it stop, please! No more! No more! I'm sorry, what did I do wrong, how could I have, stop it, please, forgive me! I didn't do anything, it wasn't me, stop! It hurts! It hurts!_

_His frame shivered and he felt his arms being tugged back; his body being pulled up until he was hanging, hands above his head and body beginning to tense…._

_The first of the shadows then tore at his flesh and he screamed…._

_**I'LL KILL YOU!!!**_

* * *

Yuugi shot up with a gasp, staring at the ceiling almost unseeingly as the horrors of the dream faded until nothing, leaving the small teen to groggily rub at his eyes and yawn.

"Yuugi! School starts in a bit, don't want to be late now do you?"

"Gahh! Crap, why didn't you wake me earlier jii-chan!" Yuugi yelled, leaping out of bed and hurriedly grabbing at his clothing.

"But I thought I did…" he heard his grandfather mumble as he walked off.

"Jii-chan!" Yuugi almost-laughed as he raced out his door and to the bathroom.

"The way you're running one would think the house was on fire," he grandfather cheerfully called from the bottom of the stairs.

"Sorry, can't hear you, I'm in the shower~!" Yuugi cheerfully called as the water started.

Chuckling the elder shook his head and muttered, "So much like his father…" before stalking into the kitchen to make up some toast.

Fifteen minutes later Yuugi was racing out the door to school, waving goodbye to his grandfather who stood in the doorway.

* * *

**Hello, my name is Mutou Yuugi. I'm a short, sixteen year old geek who lives with his grandfather in the back of the Kame Game Shop which doubles as our house. I'm really nothing special; just a boy living with his grandpa. Or at least that's what I want to think…**

Yuugi frowned, tapping his pencil against his lip as he tried to figure out what to write. Grinning as inspiration struck he bent back down to his paper and began to scribble hastily.

…**for, not matter how hard I try, my **_**real**_** past always seems to crop up in the least helpful of ways. It's not like I asked—**

"Yuugi! We're going to play basketball, wanna come?"

Startled Yuugi looked up from his paper at one of his classmates before shaking his head.

"Uh, gomen…demo, I think it might be better if I stay here. Whatever team I join will just lose anyway…" he muttered, giving a smile to the other teen.

"Right. See ya!" the kid replied, and raced off.

Yuugi frowned and bent back towards his paper before sighing and closing it up with the rest of his school items.

'_Recess already, huh?' _he thought, a small smile falling across his lips. _'Well, more time to work in it! Although why I felt the urge to take it to school with me I'll never know…'_

Laughing to himself Yuugi pulled out a golden box and said to himself softly, "Within this box is something that you can see but cannot be seen…it's my special treasure…."

"Ehh? Treasure?" a familiar voice sounded as the box vanished from his vision.

"H-Hey!" Yuugi yelped, startled, and turned to glare at the taller teen. "Jounouchi-kun give that back!"

"Oh? Why should I, Yuugi?" Jounouchi smirked at the smaller teen, eyebrow raised.

"It's important to me!" Yuugi snapped, reaching for his golden box but Jounouchi pulled back, hold the box over his head.

"Aw come on, be a man! Besides what's so special about this little box anyway? Dirty magazines or somethin'?"

"N-No!" Yuugi stated, going red. "J-Just give it back, please!"

"Hit me and I might comply…" the taller teased, waving the box just out of Yuugi's reach.

"If he hit's you, you'd hit back, Jounouchi," Honda uttered, a small smirk settled on his lips. Jounouchi turned and smirked right back.

"Not if he hits hard enough."

"You hear that, Yuugi?" Honda chuckled. "Jounouchi says if you can knock him out you'd get your precious treasure back!"

"N-No! I…I DON'T LIKE HURTING PEOPLE!!!!" Yuugi screamed, balling his hands into fists.

"And it's a good thing you don't or you might be like these two, Yuugi-kun," a soft female voice interrupted as the box was snatched from Jounouchi's hand while the teen laughed with Honda.

"A-Anzu!" Yuugi cheered, grinning at the taller girl. Anzu smiled at her smaller friend and handed him back the box before turning towards Jounouchi and Honda sharply.

"You two should be ashamed!" she snapped, eyes ablaze with righteous fury. "Picking on someone smaller and not as strong as yourselves! Get out of here before I call sensei back!"

"W-We were j-just trying t-to toughen him up, Anzu, sheesh…" Jounouchi muttered. "Come on Honda, let's get out of here…"

"Tch," Honda also muttered before following Jounouchi out of the classroom.

Yuugi sighed, "Arigatou, Anzu!"

Laughing, Anzu replied, "It was no problem, Yuugi," as she sat down beside him. "So…mind telling me what I just yelled at those two for anyway?" The two grinned.

* * *

"Anzu, really, you didn't have to come…" Yuugi protested as they reached the Kame Game Shop.

"Ah but I _wanted_ to! We haven't hung out since you were…hm…thirteen?" Anzu said, tapping her lip in thought. From beside her Yuugi rolled his eyes.

"Yeah but I can understand, really! You've been so busy…and so have I, you know! Kame Game Shop doesn't just run itself!" Instead of a reply Yuugi received one of Anzu's winning smiles as she walked up to the door.

Her shriek brought Yuugi back to attention and he raced inside, stopping when he saw it was just his grandfather. Although Anzu appeared a mixture of pale and flushed from her apparent collapsed position several feet away from the elder Mutou, almost like she had thrown herself back. His grandfather had this smile across his face and his gaze almost distant. There were a few cards from the Duel Monsters game that appeared to have been knocked over, given their rather haphazard scattering across the floor.

"Jii-chan! You didn't try and molest Anzu, did you?" Yuugi asked, after taking in the scene. Given by what he saw, and what he knew of his grandfather, Yuugi felt his claim to be justified.

"What? No!" the elder spluttered. "I greeted Anzu-chan like any normal customer, and what does she do? Screams! Although she _has_ grown since she last came over, ne, Anzu-_chan_?"

"H-Hey!" Anzu yelped, back up until she clutched Yuugi's leg, gazing at the old man with a mixed look of horror and stark realization.

"Jii-chan!" Yuugi groaned, trying to ignore what he had long ago dubbed his grandfather's 'rape face,' a term he had garnered from various anime fans.

"Yuugi-kun just told me his puzzle was a memento of his jii-chan at school!" Anzu attempted to defend.

"Eeehhhh???" the elder stated, turning pouting purple eyes on his grandchild. "Yuugi! Are you trying to kill me already!?"

"Jii-chan…" Yuugi almost moaned. This was turning out worst than when Anzu first met the old man!

"What have I told you, young man? Don't ever tell anyone your devious—"

"—plans or they'll blow up in your face," Yuugi intoned, pouting. "But I'm not trying to kill you! I meant it would someday _be_ a memento…I just kinda forgot the someday part…"

"You _are_ trying to kill me!!" the old man pointed towards the teen in shock, giant crocodile tears falling from his eyes as the man sniffed.

"Ano…Yuugi-kun…" Anzu muttered.

"I knew this day would come; oh my darling son why?! WHY!?"

Yuugi groaned and tried to hide his face.

"And you wonder why I never bring anyone over," the short teen muttered just as Anzu finally decided to stand up.

She exclaimed, "Gomen nasai, Mutou-san! This is a giant misunderstanding on my part! Still, Yuugi-kun was showing me his puzzle at school and I asked…I should've realized you hadn't died! After all where would Yuugi-kun be then?"

"I see," Yuugi's grandfather murmured, the tears stopped, before the old man froze and turned sharply towards his grandson and yelled, "YOU TOOK THE PUZZLE TO SCHOOL!?"

"Ack! Jii-chan I just—gomen!"

"Good for you!"

"Na-Nani…?"

"Heh, heh. I was wondering when you'd tell your friends," the old man cheerfully replied. "But…do they know of the curse? Of what the Hieroglyph's read…?"

"Hieroglyph's…? Curse??" Anzu murmured, her hair standing up. Yuugi just rolled his eyes, grabbed the newspaper off of the counter, and whacked his grandfather up the head with it.

"Jii-chan quite scaring Anzu! Anzu, please ignore jii-chan. He's just trying to be scary."

"Yuugi…"

"Why don't you come on back," Yuugi continued, ignoring his grandfather. "I'll make you some tea!"

Rather hesitantly Anzu nodded and darted past the old man and Yuugi into the back room where the house started. Yuugi turned back to his grandfather and said, "Next time don't attack my friend's, jii-chan. Now I'm gonna go study with Anzu, kay?"

"Oooh? Study?" his grandfather stated slyly.

"Not like that jii-chan!" Yuugi cried, turning bright red. He too dashed past his grandfather, mortified that he even started that suggestion in the first place. Granted if Yuugi was honest with himself….

'_I stepped right into that one….'_

* * *

**The next day, after a rather mortifying night of my jii-chan teasing me and leering at my best friend Anzu, I found myself wandering to school like normal, trying not to think of the news my jii-chan told me a few hours before. Apparently things weren't doing so well concerning some of our friends who had moved to Egypt two years ago…**

"Yuugi-kun! It's lunch break!" Anzu stated, setting her lunch down beside Yuugi's papers. "Oh? What's this?" She reached out for the page Yuugi was writing on but the smaller teen was much quicker and ended up having it stuffed away before Anzu could even fully make out the title.

"Gomen, Anzu," Yuugi laughed, "but I kinda don't want anyone to read that. You might get accused of cheating!"

"Mou…I suppose so," Anzu sighed, sitting down. "Eh? Where's your lunch, Yuugi-kun?" she asked a second later, causing Yuugi to pause mid-packing.

"I left it in my locker," he replied as he finished his packing, standing and pulling his bag onto his shoulder. "I was just going to go get it. See you later, Anzu!" Yuugi waved as he raced out of the room.

"D-Demo, Yuugi-kun!" Anzu called, but the shorter teen was already gone. She shook her head and sighed with a small smile.

In the hallway Yuugi found himself cornered by Ushio, much to his chagrin. He'd barely managed to avoid the upperclassman yesterday, barring that weird cryptic half-conversation that was mostly on Ushio's part by the lockers. Either way Yuugi couldn't go against his upperclassman when Ushio said he wanted to show him something. So now Yuugi was stuck following the taller, older teen to behind the gym.

"U-Ushio-san…" Yuugi chuckled nervously. "A-Ano…"

"Where almost there, Yuugi-kun," Ushio cheerfully replied.

"O-Okay…" Yuugi muttered, his mind slightly drifting in his worry.

…**and yet, little did I know, things were about to turn much worse at home too.**

* * *

Yuugi arrived home bruised and battered. He'd skipped the rest of the school day after Ushio beat him senseless, leaving his damaged body on the ground unconscious besides the unconscious Jounouchi and Honda. When Yuugi had woken up, an hour or so later, the other two were apparently long gone and Yuugi forced himself to limp home. He entered through the back door for once, not wanting his grandfather to see him this way.

Making his way up the stairs to the bathroom, Yuugi tiredly dressed his wounds before turning and collapsing onto his bed, his bag lying next to the door of his room. He pulled his puzzle box out and methodically began to piece it together again. It was a coping mechanism, one he'd had ever since he was gifted with the gold box filled with golden puzzle pieces. He'd always seemed to do better when upset.

Still, the rhythmic chink, chink, click, click-ing of putting the puzzle together relaxed his battered body, and his tormented thoughts. Soon he was lost entirely in the motions….

* * *

"_Yuugi," a soft voice called, shaking him back to awareness. Yuugi blinked up at the elder before him._

"_Jii-chan?" he muttered sleepily._

"_Working so hard again, my boy?" the elder murmured, touching his shoulder gently._

"_It keeps crying out…" Yuugi whispered, touching the gold puzzle pieces. "But I can't seem to figure out how to put it together!"_

"_Its okay, my boy," the elder sighed, gently scooping up the puzzle pieces and placing them back into the box. "Why don't you continue in the morning?"_

"_Mmkay…" Yuugi muttered, slipping down onto the bed. "It's not…evil, is it, jii-chan?" he asked, voice fading slightly._

"_Don't be silly," the elder laughed. "Would I let you near an evil thing?"_

"_No…"_

"_That's right…now go to sleep, Yuugi." The elder tucked him in gently and then stood, moving towards the doorway. Yuugi's voice stopped him, however._

"_Jii-chan…promise me we can stay here forever?"_

_The elder smiled from the doorway, blue-grey eyes darkening with untold emotion. "Forever…is such a long time, Yuugi. But if it's what you want…" he trailed off, "…if it's what you want…."_

"_I…like it here," Yuugi whispered and the elder nodded._

"_So do I. Now go to sleep."_

"_Mmkay…"_

* * *

"Jii-chan…" Yuugi whispered, stopping to stare down at the puzzle in sadness. He paused when he noted that only one piece remained left. "Yatta! It's almost done! Now for the last…oh, where's the last piece?! Noo!" Yuugi dropped to the floor, scrambling around for the last piece of the puzzle that had vanished. "No, no, no! I need that…I need to finish! The wish and…it hurts…no!"

"Yuugi."

Yuugi jerked up to see his grandfather in the doorway, a piece of the puzzle in his hand.

"Jii-chan! Airgatou!" Yuugi cried, flying tackling the elder man.

"Heh, heh. Thank one of your friends, Yuugi," his grandfather replied with a smile. "They came here and gave this to me, looked soaking wet too like they just got out of the shower or a swim in the lake!"

"Well…thanks, a lot," Yuugi stated, taking the puzzle piece and darting back to his bed.

"Mm, you're welcome, Yuugi. I'll be heading to bed now…" his grandfather trailed off and Yuugi looked up. "I love you, Yuugi."

"And I love you, jii-chan," Yuugi stated, smiled, and turned back towards the puzzle. He caught his grandfather slipping something in his bag before the puzzle caught his entire attention. "And," he whispered, "with the last piece…it'll hurt no more…."

He slid the piece in place…and the room fell into darkness.

* * *

_He screamed and screamed, back arching and arms taunt. Muscles tightening as blood splattered the ground and his body grew warmer and warmer from the exertion until—_

_The pain vanished; the shadows dropped him to the ground with angry yells and screams of rage. His wounds healed quickly and he stood, feeling his body taunt. His senses overloaded—someone was here, in his domain—his torture! They would pay, they would pay, they would pay!_

_Violet eyes flared and, bare-chested, he stalked forward with a sneer._

* * *

"D-Doko ni…" Yuugi whispered, eyes darting around the darkness. His skin crawled, hairs standing on edge. He was effectively blinded and his other senses weren't working right or didn't appear to as his hearing was all out of whack.

Then he felt something—something wrap around his waist and he felt his back pulled flush against something—no someone—and the grip around him tightened. Hot breath and then lips fell against his neck and Yuugi felt himself stiffen, eyes going wide. The person leisurely nipped and bit along the teen's collarbone and his neck, up to his ear where that mouth sucked on the lobe. One of the hands around his waist began to shift lower, the other raising higher and higher until it slid along his neck to grip his chin tightly.

The person forced his head backwards and hot lips, angry and harsh claimed his quickly, demandingly. Yuugi felt himself weak in the knees but suddenly he flared to life and struggled, trying to pull away as the shock now wore off.

"Mmm!" he cried into the other's demanding kiss, his struggles forcing the other's hand, the lower one, to move and grasp his wrists tightly, trying to stop the struggle. The being behind him shifted and next thing Yuugi knew he was being pushed against a wall, the other in front of him, bare chest against clothed, one knee against his crotch forcing his legs apart. The demanding kiss still bruising his lips only now the person was trying to coax Yuugi to open his mouth. Yuugi's wrists were being held by both hands now, tightly against the wall. His body was now entirely unable to move besides the barest of struggles.

Suddenly the other moved back, releasing the Yuugi's lips and instead attacked with vigor at the teen's neck once more, rubbing his knee almost seductively against the teen's crotch causing Yuugi to cry out, eyes going wide in shock.

"Ya-Yamero!" he cried, voice weak. The other just smirked into Yuugi's neck and bit sharply; Yuugi squeaked and bucked, yelling out once more now in a stronger voice, "YAMERO!"

This time the other did stop, frowning, and pulled back to stare Yuugi straight in the eyes. Yuugi felt his breath hitch as he saw brilliant violet orbs, tanned, bare skin, and a lot of golden trinkets before his eyes drooped.

The being before him gripped him more gently and whispered into his ear softly, voice slightly hoarse, "Nemuri…"

Yuugi knew no more.

* * *

Inside his room, Yuugi's eyes snapped open revealing bright, red orbs glaring harshly at the wall, thoughts of Ushio and the envelope his grandfather slipped into his bag filling his head. A dark smile fell across his lips.

He had a greedy fool to punish.

* * *

_Japanese translations:_

_**Jii-chan - **__grandpa  
__**Gomen/Gomen nasai - **__sorry  
__**Demo - **__but  
__**Arigatou - **__thank you  
__**Ano - **__um  
__**Nani - **__what  
__**Doko ni - **__where  
__**Yamero - **__stop it  
__**Nemuri – **__sleep_

_**Author's Corner!**_

_Yo Fanfiction peeps! TK here presenting yet __**another**__ story…. Sadly this baby's been in thought for a LOOONG while. A very long while. As in inspired by my good friend Abyss of Essence back when he was still Shinigami's Shadow here on FFN long while. I finally got around to writing it so yay! Anyway a few things of note…_

_First: Warnings. __**Yaoi, Shonen-Ai, Some Dark Themes**_

_Second: Pairings. __**Puzzleshipping **__(Yami no Yuugi x Yuugi) __**Tendershipping **__(Yami no Bakura x Ryou) __**Noteshipping **__(Katsuya x Hiroto x Anzu) __**Obscureshipping **__(Shaadi x Isis/Ishizu) BillxCharlie (HPverse characters) MalikxHermione_

_Now…this fic will be slightly darker in some aspects than the Yu Gi Oh you've all probably watched or are watching. It'll mirror more the manga, which was much darker, than the anime, although the anime has been taken into account for a lot of things. I hope however that this was obvious (the fic being a bit darker) considering Yuugi was getting pretty damn well molested against his will in here._

_Also, every duel concerning duel monsters will be completely original. Yes the characters decks will remain mostly the same (specifically Yugi and other main characters) however the duels will start, and most likely end, differently. The strategies will be different. Why? Because I'm recreating the duels with a randomizer (to generate the order of cards in a deck) and playing against myself._

_Plus some rules might change slightly (such as Duelist Kingdom's area boosts) and others modified to fit the TGC many of us in life play…depending on situations like if a character's deck (when I attempt to research it) is lacking a set number of cards. In those cases I most likely will bring in random cards I've collected (which believe me, I have more than enough to probably make 15 different decks)_

_However that's all just concerning decks and the duel monsters. There's more to note so let's move on…_

_Now about discrepancies you might notice in the chapter…such as Sugoroku Mutou (Jii-chan) having different eye colors in one scene versus another. There's a reason for that. The same with Yuugi's eyes appearing bright red at the end of the chapter, and our mysterious (to few if not all) guy in the shadows having violet eyes. (fans might recognize this mystery guy with violet eyes, and some might recognize a red-eyed Yuugi, but I will say its probably not entirely what you think)_

_The eye color changes would be better explained, I feel, if this story wasn't started about in reality 1/4 way through. However I have my reasons for stating this fic 1/4 way into its storyline, the lacking of back-story is actually important. I have a reason for it (and no, it does not mean I don't have a back-story for this, I do, really—I even started writing it up, however I wrote this story in this way for a __**reason**__)_

_Further I feel I should state that a lot of the side stuff that goes on in the manga and anime (such as duels between side characters or supporting characters) will be largely ignored unless our main character is present…_

_Next you may note the lack of description in this chapter. There also is a reason for that—I'm working through writers block. To be honest the only real piece of this chapter I had conscious thought entirely about was the Yuugi-getting-molested scene…yeah -_-;;_

_Finally, many names of the cards, characters, and a bunch of other things will be following either Japanese pronunciation/spelling, or direct translation (and not a re-naming such as the Elf Swordsman getting renamed in the English Dub and TGC as Celtic Guardian) This means that characters that many may know as:_

_Yugi Moto  
__Joey Wheeler  
__Tristan Taylor  
__Téa (or however that accent on the e is and whatever her last name in the English Dub is)  
__Solomon Moto  
__Dark Magician  
__Dark Magician Girl  
__Beast Warrior  
__Celtic Guardian  
__._

_Will instead be known as:_

_Mutou Yuugi  
__Jounouchi Katsuya (Katsuya is Jounouchi's first name)  
__Honda Hiroto (Hiroto is Honda's first name)  
__Mazaki Anzu  
__Mutou Sugoroku  
__Black Magician  
__Black Magician Girl  
__Ruizu (pronunciation wise; translation wise this would instead be Louise, however I'm going pronunciation here)  
__Elf Swordsman  
__._

_I do believe that is all I have on this matter to say. Thank you for your support, please review!_

_--TK_


	2. Dreaming

_**Summary: **__Not everything is always as it seems; something a young, dark-haired teen had learned a long time ago… // "You hurt me and my friend; for that you will pay! It's __**game**__ time; can you win the roll of the dice?" "Keh, who says I want to play?" "Who says you can back out? This is a __**yami no game**__ after all…heheheheheh." // HPYGO crossover //_

_**Melody of Mirage  
**__**Dreaming**_

_This place, his former torture, was turning into a giant maze. There was so much more than that darkness he had only known; so many rooms and deadly traps. It made him wonder, if only briefly, who he used to be. The cold, damp feeling of the maze-like structure—the musky scent of time and the dim lighting all made him a bit weary to stay here but…it was home._

_Granted torture for who-fucking-knows how long would be off putting to everyone the one thing he liked most about the place…was how much brighter it had gotten since that intruder. He could explore now, find new things about himself…._

_That is if there __**were**__ any new things. So far just traps, deadly traps, and so many rooms…._

* * *

**It was a week before anything disturbing would happen. The ominous feeling twisting in my gut, telling me things were going to get bad, refused to alleviate even with the hospitalization of Ushio. Or maybe it was because Ushio was hospitalized? Or maybe it had something to do with…the dreams?**

"Sheesh Yuugi! All you ever do when a break comes up is write…"

Yuugi glanced up to see Jounouchi settling down in one of the seats nearby, followed quickly by Anzu and Honda.

"Heh, I just like this class so much, is all," the shorter teen stated cheerfully.

"Really?" Anzu blinked, surprised. "I wouldn't have pegged you like that…"

"Well…"

"Hey, Jounouchi, did you find out where that celebrity was?" Honda asked as Yuugi trailed off. Jounouchi shook his head bitterly.

"No one knows anything," he sighed, propping his chin up with his palm.

"Celebrity?" Anzu asked.

"Yeah!" Yuugi nodded quickly. "Jounouchi-kun and I saw the van outside. Obviously we have a celebrity at school."

Anzu waved her hand and said, "No way! What would a celebrity want here and Domino? Besides, how do you _know_ it was a celebrity van…?"

Yuugi pouted, "Anzu…"

"Let those two have their fun, Anzu," Honda smirked. "It'll be all the sweeter when they're proven wrong anyway."

"Honda-kun!" and "Honda!" were shouted from Yuugi and Jounouchi respectively.

"Mou…" Anzu sighed. "I guess you're right, Honda-kun."

"Anzu!!" the duo cried again.

"Let's go." The brunette stood, followed quickly by Honda. Waving the two dashed out the room, leaving Jounouchi and Yuugi behind.

"You believe me though," Jounouchi asked.

"Hai!" Yuugi replied, pulling open his bag. He frowned, noting his lunch had gone missing. "No…I left my lunch at the lockers!" Yuugi gasped, eyes widening. "Be right back, Jounouchi-kun!" Yuugi said, tossing everything into the bag and racing out of the room.

"Y-Yuugi!"

* * *

"A-Ano…F-Fujita-san…no one's here," Yuugi hesitantly spoke up.

"Shh Yuugi-kun…" Fujita mumbled, pulling Yuugi towards the wall. "I hear someone coming…"

Next thing Yuugi knew he was bent over, clutching his stomach in pain.

"N-Naze…Fujita-san…" Yuugi coughed; Fujita just sneered down at him.

"Why would a fucking celebrity wanna be at this dump of a school, huh!?" he snarled, lashing out with a sharp kick. Yuugi dropped to the ground, groaning. Fujita just laughed at his form and kicked again, and again. There was a snap and Yuugi let out a quiet howl of pain. A second quiet cry was pulled from his lips as he was lift off the ground and slammed into the cement wall, a fist flying at his face.

"Bastard! Let go of my friend!"

Yuugi was dropped to the ground as Fujita went flying thanks to a punch from Jounouchi.

"J-Jounouchi-kun…" Yuugi coughed, holding his ribs tightly. His vision was bleary and his hearing kept going in and out. It was muffled and painfully loud all at once…

"How dare you do that to my friend you bastard!" Jounouchi yelled.

"It was just a roll of the dice, bad casting luck is all," Yuugi could hear someone else say. "Still, it'll earn big bucks; the kid'll be a hero!"

Yuugi heard Jounouchi let out a shocked gasp and then a thump as his friend fell to the ground before he felt his eyes droop close.

* * *

"_You hurt me and my friend; for that you will pay! It's __**game**__ time; can you win the roll of the dice?"_

"_Keh, who says I want to play?"_

"_Who says you can back out? This is a __**yami no game**__ after all…heheheheheh."_

"_Noooooo!!!!"_

Yuugi shot up with a gasp, one hand reaching for his chest tightly. He winced; ribs still bruised from the beating he'd taken.

'_Wait! Beating!'_ Yuugi's head jerked up and he gazed around his room in silent wonder. _'How…how did I get home? I-I swear I was at school….'_ He shook his head sharply and winced as his chest panged. _'Ow…no! I need to figure out what ha—'_

_**Nemuri…**_

'_Huh?'_ Yuugi glanced around the room, looking for the source of the noise.

_**Nemuri…**_

He felt his eyes droop as his body fell back against the sheets. So tired….

"No…don't wanna…."

_**Nemuri…little one…**_

Wavering before his sleep-deprived eyes was a tanned, half-naked half-visible from.

"Dare…"

Soft lips against his own was the last Yuugi knew before darkness claimed all.

* * *

The days began to pass in blurs for Yuugi. Some days would be typical and boring, but then others led to gaps in his memory. Those days something either exciting or horrible happened, like the day when the criminal appeared…_that_ was exciting! But he wasn't too sure how he got outside the building with his friends and an ambulance and police when he swore he had just gone to answer the criminal's demands of liquor and smokes.

Then the weird thing with that fake psychic at school, when the bookshelves fell in his direction, almost crushing him! He wasn't too sure how he went from being almost crushed to being at home in bed. It was kind of creepy.

After those incidents Chouno-sensei began to act weird as well; ever so concerned about her make-up. Yuugi knew he had blacked out half-way through that day as the last he'd remembered was being in class and then he found himself at home, in bed again! The strange dreams that came with that incident didn't help matters either. Granted that wasn't as weird as the stealing shopkeeper with the pet scorpion. He still didn't know what happened there, or where the vindictive feeling of finding the guy stung by his own scorpion was from.

Or how he knew how to suddenly handle a desert scorpion; he never wanted pets before but when he saw that man, dying, and knew somehow it was the little guys fault…he couldn't leave him to die. Calling the ambulance was the least of his worries in his mind; finding that scorpion a home was more important. But then he displayed an uncanny ability to handle the guy with ease and his jii-chan told him they were keeping it!

"Sure I have some odd talents that nobody knows about," Yuugi muttered, staring out the window, head propped on folded arms, "but I've never shown any empathy towards animals before…'cept _them_…." His brow furrowed angrily, his mind drifting to Kaiba next. "Keh, jerk…" he pouted.

Kaiba was an incident wherein he didn't know what happened. One minute he's asking for his jii-chan's card back, next he finds himself in front of the shop with the card in hand. Not to mention Kaiba Mokuba's appearance shortly thereafter, accusing him of putting his brother into a coma of all things. Yuugi didn't remember what happened after that though, as when the brat moved to grab his puzzle everything had gone suddenly dark. Next thing he knew he was back in bed, _again_.

"There's a pattern here, I know it," he grumbled. "Now just what is it…?"

He was happy, however, that Jounouchi was okay. The brief stint with that gang horrified him; although he wasn't too surprised to black out after he saw the bastards come at Jounouchi with teasers. It'd been happening so much lately that he'd come to expect it, sadly. Still Jounouchi had finally been released from the hospital with a full clean bill of health.

"He really bounces back quickly, doesn't he?" Yuugi said with a small smile.

"Just like a certain boy I know," Sugoroku spoke up from the doorway.

"Jii-chan!" Yuugi stated, sitting up and whirling to face the elder.

"Ah, you know it's true, Yuugi," Sugoroku chuckled, sitting down on the bed. "Come, come. Sit down. Something's been bothering you, child."

Yuugi sighed and mumbled, "So you noticed?"

"Hoo~oo, of course I noticed!" Sugoroku said with a bark of a laugh. "I may not have known you as long as I wish child, but I do know you. You're so much like him…"

Yuugi smiled and stood from his desk, repositioning himself to lay on the bed behind the elder.

"You say that so much, jii-chan," he laughed. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm perfectly stable, thank you very much!" Sugoroku huffed in fake-offense. "Anyway, tell me all about it, Yuugi. What's bothering you?"

Yuugi frowned and put his hands behind his head, thinking. He shifted his head slightly, moving one arm down to finger the puzzle, and sighed.

"The Puzzle," he said, finally.

"Hmm?"

"I just…are you sure it's not evil, jii-chan?" he asked after a minute, peering at Sugoroku's eyes as he bit his lip in worry.

"You know I wouldn't give you anything evil, Yuugi," the elder stated sternly. "Besides, I had our good friend check it out in the archives…and you know what he said."

"Yeah but…" Yuugi frowned. "It's just…I dunno…"

"Yuugi…" Sugoroku frowned before continuing. "Yuugi, you know that Dark or Black does not always equal Evil, yes?"

"Well duh!" Yuugi replied sharply, sitting up. "Otherwise you'd be—"

Sugoroku held up his hand sharply, silencing the boy. "Yes I know what I'd be if it weren't true, Yuugi. What _you _have to understand, my beautifully somewhat effeminate child, is that while your Puzzle may feel Dark or Black, it's not Evil."

Yuugi scowled at the elder and said, "You called me somewhat effeminate."

"Yuugi that wasn't what I want you to—"

"You deliberately said a bunch of sentence's you said seconds ago just to disguise your attempt to bring up my looks."

"Eh heh…Yuugi?" Sugoroku asked, almost sweating from the dark glare the short teen was giving him.

"This means war, jii-chan."

Sugoroku paled and dashed out of the room, Yuugi hot on his heels.

"COME BACK HERE AND TAKE IT LIKE THE MAN YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE!!!"

"BUT I'M AN OLD MAN!!!"

"OH DON'T PULL THAT BUNCH OF SH—"

"_Ack!_"

CRASH!

"Anzu??"

"Yuugi-kun??"

"Eheh…."

"You didn't forget about the museum trip, did you?"

"NANI!? JII-CHAN!!!!"

"I WAS GOING TO REMIND YOU BUT THEN—"

"GET BACK HERE YOU—"

SLAM!

"Is it just me, Anzu, or are they acting…odd."

BANG!

"GUESTS YUUGI! GUESTS!!!"

"No, it's not just you Jounouchi-kun."

SMASH!

"_AHHH! WHAT DID I DO!?_"

"H-Honda-kun!? Gomen! I was just trying to~!"

Anzu sighed. "Then again this used to happen every now and then when I showed up," she mused.

* * *

"Bye Anzu! Jounouchi-kun! Honda-kun! I'll make sure jii-chan has the right date next time!" Yuugi hollered as he waved goodbye to his three friends. In response the three all called their own goodbye's before they disappeared around the corner and Yuugi shut the door with a little chime.

"I do apologize, Yuugi," Sugoroku spoke up from the kitchen as Yuugi entered. "I didn't mean to mess up the dates like that I swear!"

"It's okay, jii-chan!" Yuugi laughed and pulled the man into a tight hug. "I had tons of fun anyway."

Sugoroku chuckled, ruffled the younger's hair, and sent him off to bed.

The dreams came again that night.

* * *

_He was walking, smoothly, confidently, towards the bastard that had Anzu clasped tightly to his side. His gaze was smoldering but a playful, dark light masked the anger there._

'_**I will not **__let__** this…this…disgusting **__reri_ _**get away with harming me!'**_

_The shadows of the booth seemed to writhe in his anger; his own shadow twisted very slightly as he settled himself across the criminal and placed the alcohol and smokes down._

"_Did I say you can sit, gaki?" the man sneered while grabbing the pack of cigarettes._

"_No," he replied, a self-confident smirk fell across his lips and he continued, "but you looked bored. Figure I'd…spice things up."_

"_Keh, so you have a death wish."_

"_Let's play a __**game**__…."_

_He snarled as he pushed the bookcase off to the side. Smoothly he moved until he was standing, eyes burning with such intensity that the one they aimed at would surely be ash if they were still present._

"_How __**dare**__ he…" he sneered, voice deep and dark. "How __**dare**__ he…__**but**__…I know __**just**__ how to deal with __**scum**__ like him…."_

_A smirk settled across his features._

'_**It's **__game__** time…**__bakayarou…__**'**_

"_An itja…?" he said lazily from the doorway. "How…mundane."_

"_Wha-What are you talking about? Heheh…" the shopkeeper replied nervously._

"_Obviously a dumb one too," he scoffed in response and calmly entered the room. "Now, itja, we can do this the easy way…no, wait, I'm lying. We can only do this __**my**__ way."_

"_Wha-What do you mean?"_

"_The shoes. Return them."_

"_Go ahead and take them!" the shopkeeper yelled, holding out the shoes._

_He scoffed again and stepped up, dropping coins into the shoe as he said, "I know about your little __**pet**__ being in the shoe, so let's test our daring, hmm?"_

"_H-How?"_

"_With a __**game…**__"_

_Kaiba screamed, horrified._

"_STOP! PLEASE! OH KAMI PLEASE!"_

_He just stared; eyes alight in a strange, unholy glee._

'_Never__** steal from me again, **__hem__**.'**_

"_Nii-sama! Nii-sama! Tasukete! Tasukete! Nii-sama!"_

_He just turned his back to the screaming boy and scoffed, "Isn't the reason why you sought me __**because**__ he's gone? Tch, pathetic."_

"_Nii-sama! Tasukete!"_

_As the idiot women screamed in horror at her own appearance he calmly removed his own blindfold to stare at his now pieced together mirror. A finger gently traced the face on the reflective surface and he smiled._

"_My little __**aakhu**__…" he whispered as green orbs gazed up at him in confusion._

* * *

_Japanese translations:_

_**Ano – **__um  
__**Naze – **__why  
__**Yami no game – **__game of darkness (eng. Yugioh "shadow game")  
__**Nemuri – **__sleep  
__**Dare – **__who  
__**Sensei – **__teacher/honorific used for doctors  
__**Jii-chan – **__grandpa  
__**Nani – **__what  
__**Gomen – **__sorry  
__**Gaki – **__brat  
__**Bakayarou **__– idiot (commonly used for "bastard" however)  
__**Kami – **__god  
__**Nii-sama – **__big brother  
__**Tasukete – **__help_

_Egyptian translations: (note these are all approximate)_

_**Reri – **__pig (transliteration from glyphs: rri)  
__**Itja – **__thief (transliteration from glyphs: iTA)  
__**Hem – **__priest  
__**Aakhu – **__light_

_**Author's Corner!**_

_Yo! No doubt more of the puzzle on the not-told backstory can be seen here, granted I made it vague enough that you probably can't infer __**everything or most stuff**__ unless you're like stalking me. Seriously._

_As you no doubt noticed, chapter was longer, and I skipped over major details of the manga. That's because, many YuGiOh stories that are AU's actually go into much detail, and repetitive, on manga and anime situations. I decided to spare you that—after all, if you were here for the original story then I would be the author of the YuGiOh series now, wouldn't I? I'm not, however, and am just a fanfic writer. A fanfic writer who won't take an author's original work and re-work it again and again until it's redundant. For the original stuff go read the manga._

_It supports the people who make it so fanfiction is __**possible**__._

_Thus the major glossing. Granted I will say the encounter with Shaadi will definitely __**not**__ be glossed. That's much too important. And Shaadi's a supporting-main character anyway._

_In this chapter you shall probably note the Egyptian; feel free to try and correct me however if you ARE going to correct me…please leave me a link to your source. I'd very much love to see how much __**research **__and __**time**__ you've spent into this. After all I spent pretty much 24 hours researching Ancient Egypt, both the religion, hieroglyph's, transliteration, inclusion of vowels, pronunciation, sentence structure, and searching for who knows how damn long for some simple word lists (which is soooo damn hard to find!)_

_So if you've clocked more the 24 hours of research into the subject, and have a bunch of sites you've continuously visited that each support the other, then I'll listen. Otherwise don't bother, please?_

_Oh, and the change in summary? That's a thing I do. Each chapter will have a __**summary quote**__ that'll appear in my summary. My summary is composed of pretty much __**three **__main parts: __**the main summary**__ which summarizes/hooks in the readers to the fanfic in a short manner, __**the summary quote**__ which is taken from the latest chapter, __**any warnings or other details **__basically anything else that is important that can fit. Like warnings, notes on crossover, etc._

_So, yeah, that all aside…._

_You'll probably see my clues here, and if you do, feel free to guess what the puzzle fully forms! Granted I'm pretty sure I haven't given enough clues to complete the mysterious puzzle on the backstory but you can guess all you want._

_Hm…I just realized Yuugi slept pretty much half the chapter away and red-eyed Yuugi got pretty much half the chapter all to himself…funny, that._

_Oh, and just so you know, I __**really**__ liked my little Grandpa-Yuugi interaction, heh. So amusing…._

_Anyway, feel free to review, and thanks to my 4 reviewers so far: __**wolfawaken**__, __**Orpheus Thanatos Messiah**__, __**sherabo**__, and __**kandra**__._

_A quick Q&A:_

_Which is Harry? Will Harry be appearing?_

_--just wait and it'll become apparent_

_And about my other fics:_

_I'm facing horrendous writers block and a YuGiOh addiction. Everything's on hold until my life gets on track, my addiction fades into normal ranges, and my writers block vanishes. Sorry guys but its true._

_Thanks again!_

_--TK_


	3. Egyptian

_**Summary: **__Not everything is always as it seems; something a young, dark-haired teen had learned a long time ago… / "You think he's a Keeper." "Why else would he not know? Why else carry those scales, why else speak as he does?" / HPYGO crossover /_

_**Melody of Mirage  
**__**Egyptian**_

He sat at his desk, staring into the tank that held the scorpion he'd rescued, hair in complete disarray but he didn't notice. The little creature in the tank scurried around a bit before settling still only to repeat seconds later. A small smile settled on his face as he tilted his head absently.

A sigh sounded from the doorway to the room before the familiar voice of Sugoroku reached his ears, "I thought you were in bed."

"Couldn't sleep, jii-chan," he murmured, tilting his head to the left now as the scorpion scurried off again.

"Oh ho? And what's on your mind, young one?" Sugoroku asked, settling down on Yuugi's bed, staring at the teen that still sat at his desk and did not once turn around.

"How do I…know these things?" he asked softly, absently raising one hand to touch the glass in an almost caress. The scorpion didn't react.

"Some things are so well engraved that we remember, even when we've long past forgotten," Sugoroku stated.

"Is that true though?"

"Would you doubt me, child?"

A frown tugged at his lips and he murmured, "Not so but…."

"You do remember what we were to do today, yes?"

"Some exhibit at a museum. History stuff, right?"

Sugoroku chuckled, "Yes, history stuff. Specifically Egypt."

"Egypt…?" he mumbled, brow furrowing.

"Mmm, the place of great kings—the Pharaoh's—in the land of Khemet. The exhibit we're invited to see in a week's time is a new one; a friend discovered a mummy of an ancient Pharaoh in his tomb…."

"But…that seems wrong? To…invade a tomb?" he asked, sounding hesitant.

"Ah, yes, to invade one's eternal slumber…" Sugoroku sighed. "It is…cruel, but we try our hardest to preserve the Pharaoh's peaceful afterlives." Sugoroku peered at the boy who shifted slightly before continuing, "Not always do we get there in time, but most often then not…we do keep those who sleep safe."

"Is that…slumber always peaceful?"

"I would think so, yes," Sugoroku stated as his eyes narrowed.

"…but what if it wasn't?"

"That would make no sense, child," Sugoroku sighed. "For the slumber should be peaceful if Ammit did not devour your soul."

"Why would…."

Sugoroku chuckled, "I suppose I should explain the Egyptian belief's about your soul, young one?"

"…it would be nice," was the murmured reply as the teen's head tilted the other way; he shifted until his free hand was holding his head and his formerly occupied hand was now free.

"The soul is believed to be composed of five parts: the ren, ba, ka, ib, and shuet."

"Shuet…?" the word was hardly spoken but Sugoroku chuckled anyway.

"Yes….When one passes into death their soul—heart—is weighed in a ceremony before the Gods. Anubis was the God of Mummification and often would oversee the weighing…in the ceremony the soul would be weighed against a feather of Ma'at upon a set of scales. If it was heavier than the feather the person would be consumed by Ammit. If not they would travel to the afterlife with Osiris."

"But does a heart not weigh more than a feather?"

"My boy you are thinking quite literal! I am meaning spiritual…your heart, soul, is the holder of your emotions. It's a key piece of you; were you kindhearted and loving or cruel and sadistic? Your subconscious reactions engraved into your soul can reveal this…."

"Oh…."

Sugoroku sighed and patted them bed, "Come child; you need to sleep. The mind isn't all that must rest you know, so must the body in order to function as one unit…."

"I'm sorry, jii-chan," was the muttered response and the teen stood; dark amethyst eyes, heavy with sleep and swirling thoughts, peered at the elder in slight confusion. "What…"

"Sleep, child," Sugoroku murmured, likewise standing, only to gently lead the boy to the bed. "Think on this no more; it is not something you need worry about for some time. Come now…rest."

Within seconds of being placed in bed and tucked in, the boy was asleep. Sugoroku smiled and placed a small kiss to the teen's forehead.

"Mou hitori no Yuugi," he murmured, "you need not worry with such things; all will come back to you in time. Meanwhile…you keep my idiot of a child safe. He's much too kind for his own good, hmm?" The elder stood and headed towards the door, only pausing to say, "Maybe someday you'll get to see the great sands of home with your own eyes, and not a borrowed gaze…."

Sad, blue-gray eyes turned in the direction of the sleeping teen before the door shut.

* * *

**I have to admit, some days it feel as if I got no sleep—and then this silent filter of apology files through from somewhere. Although I've given up understanding just what was happening to me since jii-chan seemed unconcerned. In fact all he had to say this morning to my tired gaze was 'Remember that trip we'll be taking? I've gotten word that they were able to save the sleeping king's peace…' to my ire and confusion. I know jii-chan normally tells me if our friends were able to preserve the ancient kings or not, a part of my history I need to understand—or well, a part of my recent history as my less-recent history, and the actions therein, are not ones I often wish to recognize….**

Yuugi frowned and set his pencil down with a yawn.

"I rambled off track this time," he murmured sadly.

"Eh? About what Yuugi-kun?" Anzu asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just…tired, Anzu. Sorry," Yuugi laughed nervously, picked his pencil up again, and quickly erased what was previously written.

**I don't know why jii-chan brought up Egypt that morning; I had thought the day was Friday and not Saturday! In any case it has—had in some sense—me worried…is there something about the exhibit we'd see that he hasn't told me? He should know to inform me if there is, after all he knows how I feel about being in the dark! Then again…it was that first lack of knowledge that led to our freedom. In some ways, I suppose I could forgive him if he were to ever deny me information…if only I'd known just **_**what**_** he was hiding however….**

* * *

"Jii-chan swears he has the right day now, guys," Yuugi said cheerfully during lunch.

"Oh he does!" Anzu agreed as she reached into her bag and pulled out a newspaper. "That Professor Yoshimori was in the papers! See? It talks about his exhibit at the museum—and this Kanekura guy…."

"Mm!" Yuugi nodded. "He's the director, I think…."

"Well…as long as there are _no_ curses or such…and _no _mummies coming to life…."

Yuugi blinked and muttered, "Jounouchi-kun?"

"Look, Yuugi, I don't mind seeing an exhibit and all…as interestin' as they are…."

"What this bonehead's attempting to say is: he's afraid of ghosts. As in, a big fear of occult stuff," Honda interrupted as he settled himself down beside the three friends.

"H-Honda!" Jounouchi cried out.

"What? It's true!"

"U-Urasai!" Jounouchi snarled and Yuugi laughed nervously.

'_Jounouchi-kun…doesn't like occult stuff, huh?'_ he glanced at his friend and then shook his head. _'No, doesn't matter—don't think that way …'_

"Ne, Jounouchi-kun, how about I promise to never come back as a ghost and haunt you no matter what?" Yuugi replied cheerfully and Jounouchi went red.

"A-Ah…arigatou, Yuugi…" Jounouchi muttered, turning his head away.

"Besides, jii-chan didn't mention any curses and he'd know if there were!" Yuugi added in an attempt to pacify his friends.

"Yuugi—" Anzu started but Yuugi's quickly waving arms stopped her from talking as he hastily continued:

"I-I-I mean it just seems like jii-chan knows everything sometimes, you know? I'm su-sure you've noticed it yourselves, haha….I gotta go now, bye!"

Within seconds Yuugi had his bag packed and was out of the room, ignoring Anzu's confused call of "Yuugi!" and Jounouchi's muttered "I so totally understand, little man…"

'_How could I have been so __**stupid**__ saying that in front of them!'_ was the teen's only thought as he raced out of the school; screw the rest of the day he wasn't feeling too good anyway. Besides, his grandfather would understand…he hoped.

* * *

**It was a week before we got to see the exhibit. Jounouchi-kun kept, well, trying to come up with excuses to get out of it without appearing actually afraid despite the group knowing his fear. Still, the foreboding feeling that had appeared that one day, where everything was off by such large margins, steadily grew into a dark pit. I knew, deep down, that something bad was going to happen.**

**I didn't like that.**

* * *

"Oh ho! This is quite a turnout," Sugoroku murmured, surprised. "I'm rather surprised! Katsuya, Hiroto, Anzu-chan—so glad you could make it!" He laughed heartily as Anzu looked past him curiously.

"Where's Yuugi-kun?" she asked, almost frowning.

"He'll be here in a minute," Sugoroku chuckled and, exactly one minute later, Yuugi raced up to the group panting.

"Gomen, minna-san! I had to…use the bathroom," he panted, hands on his knees and blue uniform slightly ruffled.

"Ehh?" Jounouchi turned towards Yuugi, pulling his finger from where he was trying to clean his ears out, trying his hardest to appear completely relaxed. "Yuugi…why are you wearin' your uniform?" he asked a second later.

"Ah…is it not normal?" Yuugi asked hesitantly, fingering the clothing. Beside him Sugoroku chuckled and the teen turned sharply. "Jii-chan! You knew?"

"Knew what?" Honda questioned to Jounouchi as Sugoroku answered.

"You must figure these things out on your own, child," the elder chided. "Now pipe down! Here they come."

The group turned in unison towards where Sugoroku was looking. There, from the entrance of the museum, came the archeologist Yoshimori and the museum director Kanekura.

"Yoshimori-kun! It's so good to see you," Sugoroku greeted warmly, grasping his old friend's hand tightly. Yoshimori laughed.

"And you, too, my old gambling friend! This is Kanekura, the Director," Yoshimori waved to the rather portly man beside him. "He's, ah, the funding behind the recent discoveries as you no doubt know."

"A pleasure to meet you," Kanekura stated, smiling wildly. He faux coughed and added in a stage whisper to Yoshimori, "Remember what you told me?"

"Ah, hah," Yoshimori laughed nervously before nodding to Sugoroku. "That's right! You said your grandson solved that old relic? Took him eight years yes?"

From beside Sugoroku Yuugi scuffed his feet nervously as his grandfather just laughed. "That's my grandson alright," the elder chuckled, pulling Yuugi to his side.

"Jii-chan!"

"Quite the little genius, don't you say?"

"Quite indeed! Especially concerning…well…" Yoshimori trailed off. Kanekura, meanwhile, had been eyeing the puzzle around Yuugi's neck. It was making the spiky haired teen decided nervous.

"Is this it?" the director cried, darting forward to grab the puzzle. Absentmindedly he added, "Can I hold it?" to which Yuugi hesitantly gave a positive. "Oh this will make mi—I mean it will fit so well in the display! Please, allow me to show it? For the day?"

"Well…" Yuugi bite his lip, eyeing the puzzle and noting the lack of warmth his own body seemed to now have. He also didn't like the feeling Kanekura was giving him but Yuugi couldn't figure the guys motives out.

'_I knew I should've paid more attention to those lessons,'_ the teen thought bitterly as his friends quickly cajoled him into agreeing once his indecisiveness became obvious.

* * *

Despite the rather rocky start to the trip Yuugi soon found himself enjoying being immersed in the ancient, yet well preserved culture. The simple carvings, ushebti, and other relics were amazing sights to behold, even if some of the educated guesses as to what they were left Yuugi thinking, occasionally, how silly it was to think _that_ was for _that _and not _that_ and that this translation was wrong and meant something entirely different. However those thoughts quickly filtered away as they weren't strictly adherent to what he was supposed to currently know.

'_Honestly, I'm slipping a lot today,'_ Yuugi thought, lips curling slightly into a frown as he trailed behind his friends. _'Is it all this lost culture?' _He came to a stop before the mummified Pharaoh—or rather a replication of the real Pharaoh. Sugoroku had told him that a week ago, on that day were _everything_ seemed to be out of its usual alignment.

It was then he heard the soft, Egyption prayer coming to an end to his left. Curious, he turned to see a tall man—an Egyptian his mind quickly supplied in shock—standing there with tears to his eyes and a set of scales in one of his hands.

Yuugi felt himself fall into a mild panic, buried deep beneath the surface, as he asked rather calmly and curiously, "Why are you crying?"

The Egyptian glanced at him in surprise, one hand raising to touch his tears before saying, "I cry because Egypt cries for the disturbance of one of her slumbering kings."

Yuugi frowned, glancing at the fake mummy before turning fully to the Egyptian.

"Because this Pharaoh was disturbed from its sleep?" he questioned, eyes wide with curiosity. The Egyptian smiled.

"You are a strange boy," he murmured, patting Yuugi on the head and leaving.

"Hey!" Yuugi yelped.

"Live happily, strange child," the Egyptian offered in parting.

"I'M NOT A CHILD!" Yuugi found himself yelling, and blinked as the place was oddly empty.

'_I need to tell jii-chan,'_ was the only thought as he raced off.

* * *

"You don't think…" Sugoroku murmured as Yuugi finished his explanation of the encounter.

"He was Egyptian, he didn't know about the switch, and he was carrying a set of scales," Yuugi stated bluntly. "I don't think, I'm pretty sure."

"A follower of Anubis? One who does not know of the Guards?" Sugoroku quarried, disbelieving.

"_You_ were the one who told me there are Keepers about, too," Yuugi murmured. "And that these Keepers stay out of modern affairs."

"You think he's a Keeper."

"Why else would he not know? Why else carry those scales, why else speak as he does?"

"Then we must leave immediately!" Sugoroku snapped. "I will not have you endangered by one of Anubis' disciples' actions! If he is here then that means someone has angered the Gods, child. Or have I taught you nothing?"

"But could he not be here on his own will?" Yuugi quarried.

"The Keepers leave their tombs only when the Gods command it!"

"But those scales…"

"Yuugi, we leave early. That is final."

Yuugi sighed and slumped down.

"My puzzle?" he finally asked, raising his amethyst gaze inquiringly.

"You can come back for it, child," Sugoroku sighed. "Later, after closing. For now it's not good—not while this follower lurks about. Let's go."

"Will you…"

"Of course; do you take me for an idiot, son?"

"I-Iie! It's just you tend to be so forgetful in your old age, jii-chan!" Yuugi stuttered.

"Old? I'll show you old you brat!" Sugoroku cried playfully.

Laughingly Yuugi raced away from the elder's grasp.

* * *

That evening, as Yuugi walked the eerie halls of the empty museum, searching for Kanekura and his puzzle, he ran into the strange Egyptian man again. This time the man held his puzzle in his grasp, beside the scales.

"Hey! Crazy Egyptian why do you have my puzzle?" Yuugi demanded, and the Egyptian paused.

"Your…puzzle?" he asked. "You solved this?"

"Yeah! Give it back!"

The Egyptian tilted his head, curious, and gripped a rope around his neck tightly. Yuugi backed up, not liking the blank look in the Egyptian's eyes. He barely had a chance to spot a golden Ankh, similar to the Puzzle and Scales, before his vision went white.

"_**Let's play a game…trespasser."**_

* * *

**Japanese Translation List Thingy**

_**Jii-chan **__– grandpa  
__**Mou hitori no Yuugi – **__The Other Yuugi (roughly)  
__**Urasai **__– shut up (I'm pretty sure this is close to being accurate)  
__**Arigatou – **__thank you  
__**Gomen **__– I'm sorry  
__**Minna-san**__ – everyone_

**Egyptian Translation List Thingy** (almost all approximate; not 100% accurate)

_**Khemet **__– Black Land (refers to the land of the nile, aka Egypt)  
__**Ammit – **__funerary deity known as "Devourer of the Dead" "Eater of Hearts" and "Greater Death" part of the Egyptian religious belief system  
__**Ren – **__name; part of the Egyptian religious belief system concerning the soul  
__**Ba – **__soul; part of the Egyptian religious belief system concerning the soul  
__**Ka – **__spirit; part of the Egyptian religious belief system concerning the soul  
__**Ib – **__heart; part of the Egyptian religious belief system concerning the soul  
__**Shuet – **__shadow; part of the Egyptian religious belief system concerning the soul  
__**Anubis – **__God of Mummification; part of the Egyptian religious belief system  
__**Ma'at**__ – Goddess of Truth and Justice; part of the Egyptian religious belief system  
__**Osiris – **__God of the Afterlife; part of the Egyptian religious belief system_

_**Onwards to Authors Note!**_

_Yo! So now you probably have more questions than answers…oh well. Anyway, figured I'd give you guys a clue in onto whose eyes change, what colors we've seen so far…etc, etc._

_Yuugi: Purple, Red  
__Mysterious Guy: Purple  
__Sugoroku: Purple, Blue-Gray  
__Mirror Reflection (from the game last chapter): Green_

_These colors are significant. So, that's a clue for you guys._

_Now! You're probably all wondering "What's up with Yuugi? Why did he do a personality switch here?" Well…the bold text explains it. He's feeling off. Plus you get to see a little of his "hidden intellect" that no one knows about…except for Grandpa._

_And yes, you also can see that Grandpa knows more than he let's on. And no, I didn't mess up any eyecolors. Not even in that first bit. There's a reason why…I've given you clues, can you piece it together yet?_

_Also, you'll probably notice that I explain eyecolors inconsistently for Purple, Green and Red or other colorings. This is a common author mistake, and while I readily acknowledge I commit it I don't feel like fixing it. They are not the same colors, if you really wish to know. Amethyst and violet are not the same. Neither is Ruby or Bloody red or crimson. They're all different colors. However I use them as descriptors for the __**main**__ colors of Purple and Red. It __**is**__ however a common trap that authors fall into. We can't really remember very well what descriptor for color we used. However it's so common a trap that no one really pays attention to it these days…._

_Yeah, I'm rambling because I'm sleepy._

_On another note you may think it odd on how Yuugi seemed to recognize and/or think of Shaadi in such a way. Or that Sogoroku understood him. Or any reasons with Yuugi's reactions after running into Shaadi or even Yuugi's thoughts on the mummy. I again have my reasons for this, and yes this is part of the mysterious backstory that you all are lacking. It will be explained in greater detail soon._

_As another, final note, we are coming to the end of this prologue-ish arc. Meaning the "Season 0" tidbit/manga is ending here. Only one more chapter really (maybe two, it depends) before he dive headfirst into Duelist Kingdom._

_I can't wait, can you?_

_Also so sorry for the long wait in updating. I've been busy._

_Oh, and all the Egyptian religion spouting and whatnot? It's probably not a 100% accurate but really, I gave up on accuracy for it after about two days of research into the subject. It just got…too tedious._

_-TK  
__Twin Kats_


End file.
